FRISCO – There was Micah Parsons on a Thursday night, sitting at a desk on the side of a football field in Green Bay, talking to a streaming service about his new team with chants surrounding him.
“Thank you, Jerry” was the sound that brought a smile to the newest pass rusher of the Packers.
As Parsons was basking in the glow of his new home, the man who approved the trade was at The Star on Friday afternoon explaining himself.
Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager, wasn’t backing down from the stunning trade. If anything, Jones was embracing the gamble he’s taking.
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It was the old Jerry Jones coming back to the fold. The Jones who gambled to purchase the Cowboys, a franchise hemorrhaging money in the 1980s. He made the daring hire of Jimmy Johnson, traded Herschel Walker and later on made the surprise hires of Barry Switzer, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips, Brian Schottenheimer and other bold moves on and off the field with personnel.
Remember Terrell Owens? Pacman Jones?
So is The Gambler back?
“If anybody that doesn’t think this is rolling the dice, I don’t know what rolling the dice looks like,” Jones said. “You make decisions like this and the consequences usually they have this type of critique or this type of impact. You’re not out here playing pinochle. You really are if you’re taking risks. We all are there. If it weren’t risk, then you wouldn’t have so many people probably disagreeing with your decision.”
The Parsons decision will weigh on the franchise for several years, until a fair evaluation can be made of the two first-round picks acquired in the trade with the Packers. Of course, Jones is pleased the premium player acquired in the deal, defensive tackle Kenny Clark, is showing up in the run game.
Jones has said the run defense was an issue for his franchise and adding Clark is viewed through a positive lens.
Yet, the deal comes with a risk. A major one.
The Cowboys gave up one of their best players, Parsons, and weakened the pass rush. The Cowboys had one sack and five quarterback hits in the Week 1 loss at Philadelphia. The second half of the Eagles game saw the defense blitz more, which gave quarterback Jalen Hurts some trouble.
Yet, the Cowboys lost and now the team is seeking the services of pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. He visited The Star on Wednesday and left without a deal. Clowney is taking his time before agreeing to a deal with any team.
Schottenheimer continued the recruiting with a phone call on Thursday.
Parsons had half a sack, two assisted tackles and three quarterback hits in 47 snaps in the Packers’ win over the Commanders on Thursday night.
It’s amazing what this trade has done for the Packers, who have morphed into one of the favorites to win the NFC, thanks to Parsons’ availability.
Jones was in a similar situation when he traded Walker to Minnesota in 1989. The Vikings were a running back away from becoming a title-contending team and the Cowboys needed draft picks to help a rebuild.
“I worried when we did Herschel Walker to Minnesota,” Jones said. “Of course, a great player, a great player. We’ve had, I’ve had, some real success with great players. Deion Sanders, OK, and I would put Charles Haley in there, too. But we also know there was a lot of supporting cast around Deion and a lot of supporting cast around Charles Haley, too. Really top, top players there. I weighted that like you were weighing scales.”
Any trade is a gamble and Jones isn’t excusing what he’s done with Parsons and his team.
Jones told a small group of reporters about the Riverboat Gambler playing cards and needing one card to win the hand. If he doesn’t, well he’s going in the water.
“That’s when he’s at his very best, not when he knows what’s going to happen,” Jones said. “But let me tell you one damn thing, that Riverboat Gambler knows how to swim because he’s thrown in there before. That’s the trick, don’t pull that off if you can’t swim.”
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